Cats And Kittens

DAYTONA BEACH - For many, June traditionally is filled with springtime flowers and blushing brides, but animal-shelter workers typically view the month as a bleak one for cats.National Adopt-A-Cat month is observed annually during June - the peak birthing season for kittens.Since the beginning of this month, area humane societies have been inundated with cats and their offspring.``One day last week we had 66 cats and kittens brought in,'' said Michelle Pari, spokeswoman for Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach.

organization: Operation Kindness Offering $25 OFF Pet Adoptions date: 8/31-9/3 address: 3201 Earhart Drive Operation Kindness Offering $25 Off All Pet Adoptions, Over 250 dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes. To celebrate Labor Day , Operation Kindness is offering $25 off all pet adoptions for four days. Help a dog, cat, puppy or kitten experience freedom in their new forever home. FEES: (Labor Day discount not included) $110 for cats $135 for kittens (under 1 year of age)

More than 150 purebred cats and kittens as well as other pets will be at the Tri-County Cat Fanciers Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Central Florida Fairgrounds, 4603 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando. Three of the four American Cat Fanciers Association "Cats of the Year" will be there. Admission is $3 for adults and $1.50 for seniors and children ages 3 to 11. Call 407-830-8414.

Pet Rescue by Judy will celebrate the grand opening of its adoption center in the Oviedo Marketplace from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, with door prizes, face painting and other activities. The center will have 10 to 15 dogs and puppies and 10 to 15 cats and kittens, as well as pet supplies for sale. The 3,000-square-foot facility will be open every Saturday and Sunday until Christmas. The mall's management, General Growth Properties, Inc., donated the storefront; the rescue group pays utilities.

Purr-loving volunteers and do-gooders are needed to come to the rescue of more than 1,000 cats and kittens that have been dropped off at Orange County's animal shelter since the beginning of May. Orange County Animal Services has put out the alert that it needs as many people as possible to adopt the felines, or at least become a foster family for cats and kittens that need extra care. Some of the kittens are weeks-old orphans that need to be bottle-fed and cared for until they are old enough to be adopted by a good home, said Kat Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Animal Services.

Pet Rescue by Judy will celebrate the grand opening of its adoption center in the Oviedo Marketplace from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, with door prizes, face painting and other activities. The center will have 10 to 15 dogs and puppies and 10 to 15 cats and kittens, as well as pet supplies for sale. The 3,000-square-foot facility will be open every Saturday and Sunday until Christmas. The mall's management, General Growth Properties, Inc., donated the storefront; the rescue group pays utilities.

A woman who feared eviction abandoned a trailer and the dozens of dogs, cats, birds and pigs who lived inside amid excrement and cockroaches, officials said. ''This is the worst that I have ever seen,'' said J.D. Stayton, Santa Fe County Animal Control Department supervisor. The menagerie included 20 dogs, 20 cats and kittens, 13 birds, three ferrets, a white rat, a guinea pig and two pot-bellied pigs. Bonnie Sykes, who lived in the trailer, is thought to have fled the state. Deputies took the animals to the Animal Control Department.

Now that cats have surpassed dogs as the No. 1 pet in the United States, feline fanciers can congratulate themselves today and Sunday at the Championship Allbreed Cat Show.Held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds' Exhibit Hall C, the show will feature 450 championship cats and kittens. Persians, Maine coons, Burmese, Cornish rex and Siamese will be among the breeds competing for prizes. The show also will feature Grand Champion Tsar Blu's Zarin, a Russian blue from Foster City, Calif., recognized as one of the top-scoring cats in the United States.

Students from the University of Central Florida will hold an adoption service today for stray cats rescued from the campus.Animals will be available from 10 a.m. -2 p.m. at ANIMALiberation of America, Inc., at 9 West Washington St. in downtown Orlando.The cats already are neutered or spayed and have been dewormed and vaccinated for rabies and distemper. The cost for each adoption is $20.The animals have been rescued by students who are caring for them until permanent homes are found. Students started rescuing cats in response to UCF's plans to have campus strays killed.

EUSTIS -- When folks come to adopt from the Cat Protection Society, they now can have some alone time with the felines before choosing. The society moved to a larger, 12,700-square-foot facility, which includes a quiet room where cat lovers can be with their potential pets in privacy. "People who come to pick out a pet will often say, `I don't know if I'll bond with it,' " said Lois Lanius, president of the Cat Protection Society. The old Sorrento facility was only 3,500 square feet.

Purr-loving volunteers and do-gooders are needed to come to the rescue of more than 1,000 cats and kittens that have been dropped off at Orange County's animal shelter since the beginning of May. Orange County Animal Services has put out the alert that it needs as many people as possible to adopt the felines, or at least become a foster family for cats and kittens that need extra care. Some of the kittens are weeks-old orphans that need to be bottle-fed and cared for until they are old enough to be adopted by a good home, said Kat Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Animal Services.

Tonight, the congregation at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando may look more like Noah's Ark than a church service. The 6:30 p.m. gathering will mark the first Soulful Sundown Animal Blessing service at the church, 1901 E. Robinson St., in Orlando. Church and community members are invited to bring cats, dogs, birds, reptiles and other well-behaved animal companions to celebrate the important roles that animals have in people's lives, as well as to honor St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment.

Volunteers from the Cat Protection Society, a no-kill shelter for strays and abandoned cats, will have an open house from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday at the shelter, 31218 Margie Owens Road, Sorrento. Cat lovers and concerned residents are invited to attend and learn about upcoming events to benefit the shelter. The shelter was built several years ago to accommodate 250 animals and has surpassed its capacity with nearly 500 cats and kittens. Volunteers are planning a dinner-auction themed "The Cat's Meow" to raise money to build a larger facility for the felines.

PET FAIR AT SCIENCE CENTER Bring your pets to the Orlando Science Center this weekend for the 36th annual Pet Fair, an event for the pets, the kids and the whole family in Loch Haven Park, Orlando. The science center welcomes pets of all species and sizes. Owners and their pets can enter the look-alike contest, and pets can compete in the costume contest. There will be booths featuring the latest in pet health care and nutrition. Veterinarians will give exams. Demonstrations of obedience and agility-course trials will be offered.

Black cats are breathing a little easier this week.To save these ebony felines from possibly getting involved with Halloween pranksters, the Pasadena Humane Society prohibits the adoption of black cats for the two weeks leading up to Allhallows Eve (Oct. 31).''That's because we want to prevent the abuse of black cats by people who are throwing parties and want them as a novelty around the house,'' spokeswoman Denise McElroy said.And on the darker side, shelter officials hope their policy helps keep the cats from ritualistic sacrifices.

Each year hundreds of cats and kittens are dropped off at the Humane Society of Seminole County. They come in all shapes and colors, and all of them need to be fed, doctored, brushed and loved.That is where 22-year-old Patti Lake comes in. Lake takes care of the society's cats. That is not a simple task when there are as many as 128 to look after at one time.''From day to day it's a trying job,'' Lake says.''People are constantly bringing in neglected or sick animals. Animals that they don't want anymore, or that they can't keep because they're moving.

More than 150 purebred cats and kittens as well as other pets will be at the Tri-County Cat Fanciers Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Central Florida Fairgrounds, 4603 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando. Three of the four American Cat Fanciers Association "Cats of the Year" will be there. Admission is $3 for adults and $1.50 for seniors and children ages 3 to 11. Call 407-830-8414.

More than 300 pedigreed cats and kittens in 37 different breeds will compete for the spotlight at the seventh annual Tropical Cats Inc. All-breed Cat and Household Pet Show Aug. 4 and 5. This year's show, titled "Tropical Cats Does Carmen Mewranda and So Can You," will be in the Tommy Lawrence Arena at the Volusia County Fairgrounds, 3150 E. State Road 44, DeLand. Highlights will be a cash-prize contest for the best-dressed male and female cats in the Carmen Miranda or Latin style, category competition, along with trophies being awarded to the highest scoring male and female household pets.